Camden Depot

24 May 2018

In a way, this is arbitrary. In a moment, I'm going to show you just how bad Chris Davis has been in the last calendar year. But in another way, it's not. In 2015, Davis was very good. In 2016, he was pretty good. In 2017, he was not good. And this season, he's been so bad that it's hard to comprehend. Davis has always been a streaky player, and a player's rise or fall does not always happen in a linear fashion. Still, Davis has been trending down for a while.

As a team, the Orioles are terrible. It's not all Davis's fault. But as the team's highest-paid player and worst-performing position player, well, the criticism is going to come and questions will rightfully be asked.

FanGraphs makes it easy to sort by calendar years, so these numbers are coming from there. In the last calendar year, Chris Davis has an fWAR of -2.0. Among all qualified players, that is the worst. It's not even that close, as the second worst, Albert Pujols, is at -1.5.

Let's just look at hitting then, because Davis is a first baseman, and first basemen are supposed to be good hitters. In the last calendar year, he has a wRC+ of 62. That's third worst, behind Rougned Odor (60) and Billy Hamilton (61). Odor is a second baseman; Hamilton is a center fielder. Those two positions aren't necessarily supposed to have great hitters. More numbers: Davis's batting average (.185) is the worst. His on-base percentage (.267) is second worst. His slugging percentage -- Davis is supposed to be a masher! -- is fourth worst (.349).

In 2018, the league average first baseman has posted a wRC+ of 112. In 2018, Davis has a wRC+ of 30. He already has an fWAR of -1.5 this season; the next two closest players are at -1.0.

Davis's offensive production has completely collapsed. There's not much to say other than to simply wonder: What in the world is going on? Well, that's not entirely true, because after last night's 11-1 loss to the White Sox, Jim Palmer of MASN wondered why Davis isn't trying different things and criticized his approach at the plate.

"You've got to throw that away, and you've got to make some adjustments. I don't see anything. I don't see a wider stance, I don't see a closed stance, I don't see him dropping my hands. I don't see anything. And we're seeing the results. He's just in a prolonged slump. You know, they say he works hard. Ehh. He told everybody in spring training that he worked with [hitting coach] Scott Coolbaugh. I asked Scott in spring training, I go, 'Hey, you must have really put in a lot of work.' He goes, 'We didn't work.' So, you know, I don't believe anything."

There's more, so make sure to read the rest of Meoli's article. But also, here's part of Palmer's conversation with Rick Dempsey, and it includes a clip of Davis striking out and not following the ball across the plate.

Palmer's criticisms are justified, and he certainly isn't giving a ringing endorsement of Coolbaugh, either. So when Buck Showalter talks about how his players care a lot, and that they're working hard and trying a million things to get things back to how they were, maybe you don't just have to take his word for it. I'm sure the players care -- who really wants to fail over and over again, especially on a large stage? -- but to see Davis struggle this mightily makes you wonder what types of adjustments and fixes the O's are trying to make.

I'll make this quick: It's a must-read, but it's an incredibly depressing article for any fan looking for some clarity in the O's decision-making process. And to make matters worse, it includes Anderson dismissing the notion that he'd want to become the next general manager while publicly lobbying for a higher ranking position, the role of club president. Get a load of this:

Anderson’s growing role in the front office has spawned speculation that he might replace Duquette as general manager, but he told The Baltimore Sun recently that he is not interested in becoming the team’s general manager because the requirements of that role might inhibit his ability to work directly with players. Since becoming a special assistant to Duquette in 2012 and then vice president of baseball operations in 2013, Anderson has had a unique multifaceted role that includes working one-on-one with players and overseeing the team’s strength program.

“I want responsibilities and I have a lot of responsibilities," Anderson said, “but a lot of things I do I might not be able to do if I were the GM. I have aspirations to do more and more and more. There’s no doubt. I’m not going to hide that and I never have. I certainly believe I’m capable of doing more. Look, if I’m doing what I want to do, if I’m doing things that are helping the team, I can help the GM keep his job and keep that sort of continuity."

There also has been speculation that Anderson might be elevated to club president in a role similar to the one played by MacPhail during the late 2000s. Anderson does not deny that such a possibility interests him.

“As far as president and more responsibilities, sure, I’m ready for them,” Anderson said. “But that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with Dan’s current status. It really doesn’t. They’re not mutually exclusive — my desires and the current GM having to do something else.”

This is madness. It's stunning to see Anderson feeling this comfortable to talk about exactly what he wants and doesn't want.

It's a wonder how the Orioles were ever able to return to their winning ways from 2012-2016. Whatever goodwill the team built up from their return to relevancy is almost used up, and articles like this describing the current level of dysfunction give fans a glimpse at just how chaotic things really are.

It is indisputable that the Orioles are staring into the abyss. Hopefully you enjoyed and appreciated the team's recent return to relevancy, but those times are over. Nothing was hidden about the cliff coming after the 2018 season. Unfortunately, the O's took an early wrong turn and disaster has already struck.

At 15-32, with a run differential of -67, and with a farm system that's rated somewhere in the bottom third in the majors, the O's are headed nowhere fast. The best course of action would be to not only trade Manny Machado, but nearly anyone else who could garner a decent return, in order to add young talent to a system that's desperate for it and regroup for a run in a couple years.

And yet... how can fans have much confidence that those in charge will get the necessary, upcoming moves right? According to recent reporting by multiple national outlets, Brady Anderson has leapfrogged Dan Duquette in terms of decision-making power. It wouldn't be surprising at all to see Anderson as the team's next general manager. While Anderson seems like a smart guy and is sabermetrically inclined, he might not even want to be the general manager. Would he prefer to keep his rover role where he has ownership's ear on certain matters, but can also feel free to get his hands dirty and work with certain players in the organization? Is that what a team should even want from its GM? Fans, fairly, might not even have that much confidence in Anderson considering his role in both keeping and bringing in some of the O's current veteran players.

While Duquette seems to be on his way out, Buck Showalter is also in the last year of his deal. Like Anderson, he has a lot of sway in the organization, but it's also unclear what he wants next. Does he want to stay in the dugout, is he after a front office job, or neither? Because the Orioles frequently punt on major decisions, there's a lot of uncertainty -- not exactly the best way to lead a rebuilding effort. Unless, of course, the Orioles don't plan on rebuilding at all, and will try to target major league ready players and yet again ignore the need to fix major organizational problems.

Orioles fans are used to turmoil, and none of this is really surprising. The real surprise was when the O's started winning games again in 2012. What do you do when the people in charge hold on to trade assets longer than they should? How should you feel when a team almost entirely ignores spending on international prospects to add talent to the organization? Isn't it a problem when a "reloading" team trots out three Rule 5 players and expects to compete for a playoff spot? The O's have tried a number of things over the years in an effort to gain advantages (some of which worked), but plenty of them just don't make sense.

.@JimBowdenGM on the #Orioles front office: "I was very careful in the article that I wrote...My intel has told me that Mr. Angelos' health has gotten a lot better and that he is back involved...Different people have different power depending on the time of the day."

While I have no idea what to actually make of that, that last sentence is horrifying. The power structure in the O's organization is confusing, and it's hard to know who is making which decisions.

But even when things seem like they couldn't be any worse, there's always room for hope. Before the O's ended up with Duquette, they were the laughingstock of the league. They were turned down by multiple candidates who were qualified to become the team's next GM, and for a stretch, it seemed like no one would ever take the job. The O's success under the Showalter/Duquette pairing couldn't have been more unlikely, and yet somehow it happened. No one would have predicted it.

The best Orioles fans can do -- besides things like simply enjoying the remaining games of Machado wearing an Orioles uniform and the quirks and funny moments that happen throughout a 162-game season -- is hope that the people in charge occasionally make smart decisions and get lucky. How sad is that?

A complete teardown is improbable, but perhaps those in charge will ship off some of the team's valuable and spare parts and rebuild this team's core. It's embarrassing that this is the current situation, but that's what happens when an organization is this inept. Against all odds, you have to hope things work out. Weird things happen, and the Orioles are definitely weird.

22 May 2018

It does not hurt anymore. What I mean, is that it hurts, but by this point we have grown accustomed to the burden of that pain. The Orioles are terrible. They are terrible qualitatively, quantitatively, and anecdotally. Their terribleness is an encroaching truth that is now ever-present and swelling. More so, as we look onto the horizon, we get a clear path to behold that things will be getting worse. As much as local writers have said that, "Oh yeah, the Orioles farm system is poor, but that is because so many have graduated." We should all now know how false that narrative was.

Yes, the Orioles system is poor. Yes, the Orioles have graduated several players from that system. However, those players who have graduated and become successful are close to leaving. In the wake of Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop, not much else happened. Behind them are Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy, and Mychal Givens. Behind them are...Trey Mancini. What lies in the upper minors are somewhat promising players with significant red flags. The yield has not been high and the franchise had a bit of a drought on the farm.

What that leaves the organization with is an inescapable trough this year, 2019, and 2020. The hope being that by 2021, guys like Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle will be hitting their stride on the cheap. Perhaps Cedric Mullins or DJ Stewart breaks out. Maybe the Chance Sisco hype stays afloat in spite of all the leaks in that boat. Maybe some of the pitching talent in the low minors rises as starting options instead of the relief support that actually look like. Anyway, point being, 2021 looks like the first year we could conceive playing meaningful baseball in October again...if it all hits right.

Players who are not in the 2021 plans should probably be cashed in for chips that could impact that year. Machado and Schoop are prime examples of players who should be dealt for some lottery tickets. In fact, Machado should have been dealt over a year ago once they realized the team's fortunes were shot and that they were unwilling to plop down a 300 MM contract. Schoop is a lesser Machado. A guy who looks like a solid player. but nothing spectacular. A 100+ MM contract is possible for him, but appears to be something that would be outside of what a rebuilding club should do. He has a year more of control left, so he has some value but not an overwhelming amount. The final big piece to deal out this summer would be Kevin Gausman, who has done a decent job with the Orioles but still looks like a player who could do amazing things with a team that understood him. The Orioles do not appear to understand him.

Then there are a lot of secondary players who probably have some market, but not much coming back in return. A player like Adam Jones is useful, but likely would not give the Orioles much to speak of. In this post, I won't discuss those kinds of players. I will only discuss the big items.

I also think the Orioles should keep anyone who will be with the club in 2021. Players like Bundy or Alex Cobb should remain on the roster and be re-evaluated at a later date. If someone gives you the world for either player then, yes, you deal them. However, I doubt that and would prefer to see how things go in the coming years.

This leaves us with Machado (0.5 years left), Schoop (1.5 years left), and Gausman (2.5 years left). Keep in mind, the trade examples that follow are explicitly not ones that I have heard from anyone, so be mindful and try not to spread these scenarios as reality.

Manny Machado SS/3B
Machado has been both revelatory at the plate and quite perplexing in the field. He is putting up incredible numbers at the plate while his play at shortstop has looked rather dead. Scouts tend to think that the misplays are simply awkwardness and will straighten up as the season continues. Such a player represents roughly a 40 MM surplus. He not only provides wins, but he concentrates that in one player. Machado will be one of the few individuals out there who could literally change the fortunes of a team. Lately, he has been linked to the Braves, Dodgers, Cubs, and Diamondbacks. I will not discuss any of them. Instead, let's have fun with another team doing quite well in the standings with rather abhorrent play at shortstop: the Brewers.

A 40 MM surplus would bring in players on par with Milwaukee's two best players. This is a steep price, but the Brewers do not exactly have an incredibly deep system. A strong yet not fantastical trade would be Machado for 2B Keston Hiura and RHP Corbin Burnes. Both are backend top 100 prospects. Hiura was drafted last year and is an advanced polished bat. There is some concern about his defense, but he could compare on par with what Jonathan Schoop brings to the table. However, a lack of arm strength would see him wander out to left field where the Orioles may soon experience quite a log jam. Meanwhile, Burns is an advanced arm that will be ready for his MLB debut later this summer or next. Not an exceptional talent, but he does look like he can be a starting pitcher.

This combination would do two things for the Orioles. One, it arguably provides them with middle infield depth, which is something they drastically lack in the system. Second, it gives them another cheap, controllable arm to let loose. Of course, no one has connected Machado to the Brewers.

Jonathan Schoop 2B
Schoop is not worth as much as Machado, but he does have control for 2019 to give whatever team acquires him. One option would be the Diamondbacks who have been rather disappointing at second. Schoop is a hard one to figure with his value as he has a somewhat inconsistent bat to go along with a limited defensive profile. It makes him a role player when he is off and an all star when he is on. That looks like a 15 MM surplus to me, but it would not be surprising to see Baltimore try to hold out for a lot more.

To me, Schoop screams RHP Jon Duplantier. Currently, Duplantier is eating up AA ball. He has had some questions related to his health in the past, but appears to have put that behind him. He throws a fastball with a lot of movement and a good breaking ball. Duplantier would be ready for a taste of MLB later this year or in 2019. This would give the Orioles another strong arm for consideration.

Kevin Gausman RHP
Gausman is a frustrating pitcher. He will have streaks where he is superb and then others where is he rather pedestrian with a mix of blow ups. Ask around the league and teams are still intrigued by him and believe that the best thing for him would be to get him out of the Orioles system. I would be willing to deal him because I cannot see how this team can compete in 2019 or 2020, his last year under control. Dealing him now will help reset the clock on the value. Of course, the club will be hard pressed to find the kind of perceived prospect Gausman was seen as three or four years ago.

Here, there are few teams who really need another starting pitcher who are also running for a playoff position. However, I could see the Braves utilizing Gausman and being intrigued about having him for an additional two years. The Braves could also acquire him for prospects that are outside of their organizational top five due to their impressive depth. I am putting a 30 MM surplus tag on Gausman and expecting a return of a fringe top 100 hitter and a fringe top 100 pitcher.

Austin Riley is a third basemen who just made the climb to AAA. He does not look like a world turner, but he does appear to be a decent starting option. He would be able to spell Machado at third and let Tim Beckham move back to shortstop. Riley should be ready toward the end of this year or to start next year. His aggressive approach at the plate aligns well with the Orioles. LHP Max Fried would be the other target. Scouts are somewhat divisive with how they view him. Some see him as a fringe top 100 and others like him a lot more. He just made his way into AAA and would be a live arm for the club to add that is close to MLB ready. Fried's calling card is his breaking ball.

Conclusion
It is important to remember that this is sort of an ideal situation where these teams are very interested partners. Given that, the Orioles could go from a team with two top 100 prospects on the upper end of the minor league systems to seven or eight prospects and one of the best farms in the league. These prospects however are somewhat high risk. None of them are top 10 near can't miss kind of guys. Elite performance is unlikely for these guys. That said, perhaps one or two find that next gear and, perhaps, several can provide a foundation for the next wave of elite talent to appear and pull the Orioles up by their bootstraps.

21 May 2018

When Chance Sisco was drafted, he was noted as being a rather novice when it came to the defensive responsibilities of being a catcher. His skills were uniformly seen as below average, but the potential for him to make those skills adequate was a divisive question among scouts. Our own research found that poor defensive catchers generally do not make it to the majors, primarily because they are unable to acquire adequate defensive skill. As Sisco rose through the minors, the common refrain was that he was improving, but he was not adequate. More specifically, it was considered that his framing and blocking was adequate, but his movement from behind the plate was not ideal.

Last Wednesday, Sisco was challenged and this is what happened:

That marked the 18th time someone ran on Sisco and the ninth time he was able to contribute to a caught stealing. For players with 150 IP, here are the leaders in % Caught Stealing (as of 5/17):

Name

Team

% CS

Salvador Perez

KCR

63

Jett Bandy

MIL

57

Matt Wieters

WSN

50

Chance Sisco

BAL

Mike Zunino

SEA

43

J.T. Realmuto

MIA

42

Luke Maile

TOR

40

Jason Castro

MIN

Pedro Severino

WSN

39

Francisco Cervelli

PIT

39

That looks fairly impressive and I think it is good to break down what happened in the video above.

So what are the parts of attempting to throw out a baserunner: lead control, hand break to plate, location, pop time, throw, and catch and tag. Of those parts, the pitcher is in control of the lead and hand break to plate. The middle infield is responsible for the catch and tag. The catch is responsible for his pop and throw.

When it comes to lead control, there are a mix of opinions. Many pitching coaches despise the pickoff throw. They think it increases pitch count, messes with mechanics, can indicate when a pitcher is actually pitching more easily, and simply does not work. This perspective usually involves a long staredown (a la Mike Mussina) or simply never really looking over and letting the catcher call a pickoff move. The other view is the concept on continual disruption to get the runner out of their rhythm. The Orioles appear to be a team that does not pick off much, and even if they did, it does not appear to help catchers all that much.

In the 1980s, a revolution was afoot. Dick Bosman, former Orioles pitching coach, was trying to figure out how to limit damage inflicted on his team by the running game. In the 1980s, running was a major element of the game with several seasons where someone would steal over a hundred bases. Bosman realized that as pitching coach, he had trouble encouraging catchers to get off their throws and began tinkering with a pitchers time to plate. What he realized is that a pitcher could use a quick side step and not lose all that much velocity. He was able to reduce the time a pitcher got the ball to the plate from his hand break from over two seconds to well under two seconds. From all appearances, it seems the Orioles still retain that perspective. It is a concept that is loudly preached in the organization. This helps a catcher quite a bit.

Another thing that can help a catcher is where pitches are thrown. Dick Bosman has another story regarding the great Ivan Rodriguez who was known as a dominant force against baserunners. He noted that IRod would call pitches high and outside to put himself in better position to throw runners out regardless of the impact on the at bat. Eventually, hitters wised up and began expecting those kinds of pitches. For years, the Orioles have done this. Pitch maps are all over the place, but when a runner is alone at first, the pitches rise with greater frequency. From what I can tell on Sisco's successes, he often gets these pitches when runners run.

This brings us to pop time, the time it takes to receive the ball and deliver it to your middle infielder. Here is a smattering of pop times with ranks (using Baseball Savant).

Name

Team

Pop Time

Rank (41)

MPH

JT Realmuto

MIA

1.85

1

88

Gary Sanchez

NYY

1.95

4

87

Welington Castillo

CHW

1.96

6

80

Matt Wieters

WAS

1.99

15

79

Buster Posey

SFG

2.01

21

83

Caleb Joseph

BAL

2.03

24

78

Omar Narvaez

CHW

2.06

31

80

Chance Sisco

BAL

2.08

36

78

Kurt Suzuki

ATL

2.15

42

81

Sisco has one of the weaker arms in baseball behind the plate. Of those 41 catchers, only AJ Ellis, Brian McCann, and Tony Wolters get less velocity on their balls. What is the difference between a Chance Sisco soft-tossed 78 mph pitch and a Jorge Alfaro 91 mph burner? About 0.07 seconds. In other words, about 16-21% of the pop time has to do with getting the ball in the air to second. The rest is getting into position to throw and exchanging the ball from glove to hand.

When we look at positioning, Sisco is better. Whereas his arm strength is 38th out of 41, his positioning into a throw was 23rd out of 41. That is below the mean, but not off by much. Getting the ball out of his glove and into the air? That is 34th out of 41. All of that is below average and paints a terrible picture for what he has control over.

One thing is not being measured though: the placement of his throws. I do not have the data, but Joseph does an excellent job with his accuracy and delivers the ball well for the middle infielder to use. I am unsure where it is on purpose, but he seems to hit the lip of the infield grass so that it is delivered right for a tag. That is what we see in the graphic above.

That leads us to the catch and tag, which is something either the Orioles make a point to find in a player or teach in a player. JJ Hardy, Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop, and Ryan Flaherty. They all were excellent at receiving a ball and putting a tag down. I am not familiar enough with the others yet to deliver anything near decisive.

So what does this all mean?

Name

Team

% CS

SB/9

Att/9

Russell Martin

TOR

23

0.91

1.19

Matt Wieters

WSN

50

0.51

1.02

Jonathan Lucroy

OAK

31

0.69

1.00

Jorge Alfaro

PHI

29

0.68

0.96

Chance Sisco

BAL

50

0.47

0.94

Tony Wolters

COL

33

0.58

0.88

Luke Maile

TOR

40

0.51

0.85

Caleb Joseph

BAL

21

0.67

0.84

Pedro Severino

WSN

39

0.50

0.81

Robinson Chirinos

TEX

8

0.74

0.81

Above you see the top ten catchers for whom the most stolen base attempts are made (at least 150 innings played this season). For whatever reason, teams are running on Chance Sisco. It may be that teams see the problems he has and are willing to send runners who have no business being sent to second. It may be that Sisco indeed places his thrown balls well and that value of that is underrated. It may be that his %CS will catch up to him.

Regardless, there are good reasons to doubt Sisco as being effective long term against baserunners similar to how Joseph was initially incredible at throwing out runners his first year, too, and is now fairly unimpressive. My guess is that we will eventually see teams be slightly more selective running against Sisco and perform much better.

18 May 2018

Chris Tillman was placed on
the 10 day disabled list on May 11, and there’s no guarantee he will ever pitch
in an Orioles uniform again. This is sad, because from 2012 to 2016 Tillman was
one of the better pitchers in the American League, winning 63 games and posting
an ERA of 3.81 in that time frame while throwing the 10th most innings of any
American League starter. Of course, if you’ve been alive and an Orioles fan
since the end of 2016, you know that Tillman has, for lack of a better word,
been absolutely terrible.

Since 2017 began, Tillman
has thrown 119.2 innings. He has posted an ERA of 8.42 and a WHIP of 1.964. He
has (this is almost mind boggling) struck out only 76 hitters while walking 68.
In 2018, he has more walks than strikeouts, and has gotten swinging strikes on
only 5% of his pitches, which is about half the league average and one of the
worst marks in all of baseball. While you may have been able to deduce this
from the ERA, he has nearly given up a run an inning.

Matt Kremnitzer detailed Tillman’s woes relative to the current environment, but unfortunately what
Tillman has done since the start of last season is actually historic. Since
1899, no pitcher who was given 19 starts in a season had a worse ERA in those
starts than Chris Tillman did in 2017. Add in the disaster that has been 2018,
and Tillman has arguably had the worst 26 start stretch of all time.

Without question, some of
this is injury-related, as the shoulder issues Tillman dealt with in 2016
seemed to precipitate this incredibly rapid decline. Despite repeated denials
about his health being a major factor in his struggles, it is obvious that
something hasn’t been right for over two years. That said, it has become truly
hard to fathom what utility the Orioles see in continuing to throw Tillman to
the wolves. As recently as May 16, Buck Showalter had this to say regarding
Tillman’s rehab from his latest injury issue:

“As soon
as we get all the soreness and physical stuff behind him, then we’ll start, so
we haven’t really set up that schedule yet until we know that he’s pain-free.
After that it will move pretty quickly.”

It’s
possible that this is simply normal Buck-speak and that it’s unlikely Tillman
returns to the roster anytime soon. On the other hand, the Orioles saw Tillman
go through one of the worst seasons ever for a starting pitcher and still
brought him back, and then ran him out for seven starts of 10+ ERA pitching, so who knows?

Either
way, this is a depressing coda to what had once been a solid career. I don’t
think anyone would have considered in, say, 2014, that we’d be here in 2018
talking about Chris Tillman being historically bad.I was somewhat on board
with the Orioles signing Tillman to be the fifth starter, and even said:
“I think it's unlikely that Tillman's skill erosion is so extreme that he's now
the worst pitcher in baseball at age 29, and more likely that 2017 was simply
an extremely terrible and unlucky season.” My defense was that he would earn $3
million even if he was well below average and simply pitched like he did in
2015. Now, giving me that $3 million and asking me to put it all on black at
the Horseshoe Casino seems like a far more sane and safe bet.

17 May 2018

Because of his massive contract and continued struggles, Chris Davis is always a popular topic. At the moment, Davis has a wRC+ of only 42. Among all players with at least 100 plate appearances, that's tied for sixth worst. Among anyone who's played first base this year, Davis's 42 wRC+ is second worst behind Ian Desmond's 32 wRC+. In terms of FanGraphs WAR, him and Desmond are tied at -1.0 (worst among all players).

In a post on FanGraphs yesterday about how the Rockies have been historically bad at first base, Travis Sawchik didn't spare the Orioles' struggles at the position: "By using wRC+, the Rockies are a historic outlier when it comes to first-base performance with their wRC+ of 21. Interestingly, the Orioles are second on the list (42)." Of course, almost all of the O's first base work has come from Davis.

It would be stunning for Desmond and Davis to continue being this bad. In the Expansion Era (1961-2018), only seven players have qualified for the batting title and played at least 50% of their games at first base while posting an OPS+ below 80. Here's that group, from the handy Baseball-Reference Play Index:

The most notable name on this list is Pete Rose, in his age 42 season. It's only mid-May, but for now, Desmond and Davis are on this list, and would far and away be the worst of the group.

Over a month ago, I talked about Davis's small contributions and not giving up on him, and a few weeks ago, Matt Perez discussed Davis's various problems and how he's close to not being a full-time player anymore. Since then, he hasn't played much better. Somehow, in just the third year of his lucrative contract, we're already to the point of wondering if Davis should be a platoon player.

The smart move is probably to be patient. The Orioles are bad, Davis's contract isn't movable, and the non-deferred part of his deal runs through 2022. He has plenty of issues to work out, but the O's can offer him time to get out of whatever funk he's in in order for him to hopefully regain some of his offensive prowess.

And yet, at the same time, this does not appear to be a fluke. In previous seasons, Davis's ability to make contact was a concern, but when he hit the ball, he often made solid contact and the ball went far. That is no longer the case:

That's a look at Davis's wRC+ from FanGraphs and his wOBA and expected wOBA numbers from Baseball Savant over the last few years. Davis is simply not making the same amount of quality contact (even while making slightly more contact overall), and while his power may not be gone, it's definitely gone missing.

How long can a team put up with its first baseman posting a wRC+ below 50? That's the same question the Rockies are asking about Desmond. But Davis is making even more money and is much more entrenched.

As expected, there are obvious signs of frustration with Davis's lack of production. The motivating tactic of batting him leadoff to begin the season failed spectacularly. Then, in late April, Davis was given a couple days off to "get back to being a baseball player." Davis will look OK for a couple of at-bats here and there, but overall, nothing is working.

Considering Davis's current level of production, he should be batting eighth or ninth. If he were to platoon against right-handed pitching, either Mark Trumbo or Trey Mancini should play first base whenever Davis sits against lefties. The Orioles are in a bind at third base as well, with Tim Beckham's injury forcing them into a platoon featuring Danny Valencia and Jace Peterson. At least Valencia is hitting; Peterson is not.

The Orioles have plenty of issues. That's one reason why running Davis out there may not be that big of a deal. Still, he's already among the very worst players in the game, and there's nothing to suggest that's going to change anytime soon. How much leeway does he get? How bad does he have to be before he gets the Chris Tillman treatment? How many bad players can the Orioles keep in Sarasota?

The Davis contract was a gamble, and well intentioned or not, the Orioles lost. Now what?

16 May 2018

The Orioles have been playing better baseball lately. After dropping to 8-27 a week ago, they've won five of six games. Still, at 13-28, they're 15 games below .500, and there should be no question about this team needing to move Manny Machado and many of their other trade chips well before or close to the MLB trade deadline (in Machado's case, perhaps in late May or early June).

For the most part, the Orioles can trade anyone on their roster. But there are five players who have at least some no-trade protection. With the help of contract information from Cot's Baseball Contracts, here they are:

Adam Jones: Because he has his 10-and-5 rights, Jones can block any trade. Whether he'd actually do so is a different question.

Chris Davis: The only detail that's listed for Davis is a partial no-trade clause. That almost certainly won't come into play anytime soon, as no team would willingly take on his contract right now.

Mark Trumbo: Like Davis, Trumbo also has limited no-trade protection. Cot's additionally notes that Trumbo may block deals to seven clubs annually. He's been hitting since he returned from the disabled list, and it's possible he could be moved at some point if that continues (especially if the O's were to eat some of the remaining money on his deal). Trumbo is under contract through 2019.

Darren O'Day: O'Day may also block deals to seven clubs annually. O'Day has been more injury-prone and less effective the last couple years, but with one year left on his deal for $9 million, he could potentially be traded. However, as Dan Connolly (then of the Baltimore Sun) noted when O'Day was signed, O'Day will achieve his 10-and-5 rights at some point during the 2018 season. Whenever that happens, he will be able to block any trade, just like Jones.

Alex Cobb: Cobb, the most recent signing, is the last of the Orioles with no-trade protection. He has the ability to block any trade in 2018, and then 10 clubs annually from 2019-2021. Cobb has mostly righted the ship as of late after a disastrous start, but he still has a long way to go.

There's almost no way the Orioles blow up this roster with any kind of fire sale, but at the bare minimum, they should be exploring trades for all the 2019 free agents: Machado, Jones, Brad Brach, Zach Britton (when he returns from the disabled list), Pedro Alvarez, Danny Valencia, etc. Still, don't be surprised if players like Trumbo and O'Day (and obviously Davis and Cobb) are on the roster next year.

15 May 2018

With a mysterious trip to the disabled list because of a "lower back strain," Chris Tillman has justifiably lost his spot in the Orioles' starting rotation. I don't know if the book can be closed on Tillman just yet, but it seems like he'll be out of the picture for a while.

For now, that means other pitchers in the O's farm system will get the chance to take Tillman's place. The first chance went to right-hander David Hess, and in his major league debut, the 24-year-old held his own. Pitching the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday (in front of his large cheering section), Hess allowed three runs in six innings before handing the ball of to Tanner Scott and Mychal Givens, who closed the door on the Rays. Hess, who allowed a three-run home run in the first inning, struck out three and walked none.

It wasn't a pitching line that will really wow anyone, but a performance like Hess's is something the Orioles need more of from their back-end rotation candidates. He threw strikes, mixed his pitches well, and allowed the O's defense to help him (even if it's not very good).

Mixing a 92-93 mph fastball mainly with a slider but also the occasional curveball and change-up, Hess was around the plate all game. He started nearly two-thirds of opposing hitters off with strikes, and when he was able to get a strikeout, it came on an offspeed pitch. This strikeout of Denard Span on a change-up was the best of them:

Nice looking changeup from David Hess who's been flashing some solid offspeed stuff in his first major league start pic.twitter.com/UsXizRSMnf

In his debut, Hess was good enough. The Orioles have had trouble in recent years getting No. 5-type starters to stick on the roster, and perhaps Hess will be someone who stays in the rotation for a while. It's easy to get carried away, but he showed that he deserves at least a few more starts. It would be a pleasant surprise for Hess to stick as a starter instead of needing to transition to a relief role.

Despite yesterday's off day, the Orioles have pushed Kevin Gausman back a day to Thursday. Andrew Cashner will start tonight, but there's still a need for a starter for Wednesday's matinee against the Phillies. Miguel Castro is an option to start that game, and Yefry Ramirez, Tim Melville, or someone else from Norfolk or Double-A Bowie could be selected to start.

Hess will seemingly get the first crack at replacing Tillman, but scheduling quirks, injuries, and getting extra rest for starters mean there are chances for others. The O's depth of starting pitching that's close to the majors doesn't seem very good, but it's going to be tested anyway. That's how things work.

14 May 2018

In case you were wondering, below is how the team this year is doing in comparison to past season of futility plus 2017. This past week, the club was faiely hot and are moving away from the terrors of 1988 and into a more tolerable mid-90 loss region.

Contact Camden Depot

We look forward to your questions as well as any suggestions you may have for us.

Additionally, we are always looking for new contributors, so if you want to write for the Depot then e-mail us with an example column that you think fits the tone of the site.

Contributors

Jon Shepherd - Founder/Editor@CamdenDepotStarted Camden Depot in the summer of 2007. By day, a toxicologist and by night a baseball analyst. His work is largely located on this site, but may pop up over at places like ESPN or Baseball Prospectus.

Matt Kremnitzer - Assistant Editor@mattkremnitzerMatt joined Camden Depot in early 2013. His work has been featured on ESPN SweetSpot and MASNsports.com.

Patrick Dougherty - Writer@pjd0014Patrick joined Camden Depot in the fall of 2015, following two years writing for Baltimore Sports & Life. He is interested in data analysis and forecasting, and cultivates those skills with analysis aimed at improving the performance of the Orioles (should they ever listen).

Nate Delong - Writer@OriolesPGNate created and wrote for Orioles Proving Ground prior to joining Camden Depot in the middle of 2013. His baseball resume includes working as a scorer for Baseball Info Solutions and as a Video Intern for the Baltimore Orioles. His actual resume is much less interesting.

Matt Perez - Writer@FanOfLaundryMatt joined Camden Depot after the 2013 season. He is a data analyst/programmer in his day job and uses those skills to write about the Orioles and other baseball related topics.

Joe Reisel - WriterJoe has followed the Norfolk Tides now for 20 seasons. He currently serves as a Tides GameDay datacaster for milb.com and as a scorer for Baseball Info Solutions (BIS). He is computer programmer/analyst by day.

Joe Wantz - WriterJoe is a baseball and Orioles fanatic. In his spare time, he got his PhD in political science and works in data and analytics in Washington DC.